Like most good stories, the beginning of the Waypoint story didn’t make sense at all until we got a little further into the journey. Our story begins with our founder, Jessica Bowers, sitting in a therapist’s office with a four year old boy sitting in her lap hearing the words “autism diagnosis” for the first time.  With background in education, special needs, and curriculum development, Jessica was well equipped to navigate the diagnosis, but she still struggled to find her footing and the right direction for her family.

Like most parents, she began reading, researching, collecting information from other parents and trying to find a way to help her son. Along the way her family found some successes in therapy and some failures, but each experience was a learning opportunity that allowed Jessica to evaluate what her family really needed to support her son’s progress.

Fast forward 15 years and many, many learning experiences in the world of autism therapy and Jessica began to look at how she could use her experiences to help other families who had children with an autism diagnosis. By this time, Jessica and her family had experienced ABA, and, while the security of the science behind the practice was a big positive, the lack of emotional support for the entire family or help with transition from the clinic to the home was lacking. She knew that children needed good solid therapy that was proven to work, but their parents also needed a partner and a guide through the process.

In 2015, Waypoint opened with a philosophy of care to provide therapy that was backed by science, but in a setting that supportive and compassionate and welcoming for families. Family support and family based therapy is at the heart of every service that Waypoint provides. We know that this is your journey and that you have to find your own way, but we’ve been on this path before and we have learned, sometimes the hard way, how to best navigate each corner. It is our greatest privilege to be your partner and guide as you navigate your journey with your child